Top Restaurants to Celebrate your Graduation Success

Olivia Tait on 10 May 2023

Attention all soon-to-be graduates! With graduation dates only just recently released, it’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to celebrate the occasion. And let’s be honest, after years of hard work and sacrifice, you deserve to go all out. So why not treat yourself and your loved ones to a memorable meal at one of the city’s top restaurants? Not only will it be a great way to mark the end of this chapter in your life, but it’ll also give you a chance to take advantage of your parents’ wallets one last time before you head out into the real world and start paying for your own meals. Here are some restaurants to consider booking for your graduation celebration.

The Restaurant Bar and Grill 

In the centre of Leeds and just a short walk from the station, the Restaurant Bar and Grill offers a fancy environment in which to celebrate your graduation. The menu boasts a selection of British classics with a modern twist, including grilled meats and seafood, as well as veggie options. For larger groups, the set menu option is also a great choice at around £30 per person for three courses, providing a more affordable way to dine in style.

Salvo’s

Salvo’s is a beloved Italian restaurant located on Otley Road, serving up delicious pizza and pasta dishes made with fresh, quality ingredients. This family-run restaurant has been a local favourite for over 40 years and has even been recognized as one of the best Italian restaurants in the UK! With its cosy atmosphere and friendly staff, Salvo’s is the perfect place for a relaxed and enjoyable meal with your loved ones on your graduation day.

Home

Home is a Cantonese restaurant located right next to campus! With its minimalist decor and authentic cuisine, Home offers a unique dining experience that’s hard to find elsewhere in Leeds. The menu features a variety of traditional dishes, including dim sum, crispy duck, and stir-fried noodles, as well as a selection of vegetarian options. Whether you’re looking for a quick bite or a leisurely meal with your family and friends, Home is an excellent choice for celebrating your graduation with a delicious Cantonese meal.

Iberica

Iberica is a Spanish-inspired restaurant located in the heart of Leeds. Known for its tapas, the menu offers a variety of small plates perfect for sharing with friends and family. From chorizo and jamón croquetas to grilled octopus and paella, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. And if you’re a fan of cocktails, make sure to try one of their signature sangrias.

Bundobust

If you’re looking for somewhere a bit more low-key, Bundobust is a vegetarian and vegan restaurant that combines Indian street food with craft beer. Located in the Northern Quarter (close to the station), this restaurant is perfect for those looking for a relaxed and casual atmosphere. Their menu includes sharing platters and dishes like chole bhature, vada pav and tarka dhal, as well as a variety of beers and cocktails.

Heaney & Mill

Located in Headingley, Heany & Mill offers breakfast, lunch AND dinner. The lunch and dinnertime classics like risotto and steak are sure to go down a treat with your fussy grandparents. Their brunch options are also delicious and a good choice if you’ve got an early morning graduation.

Five Staple Winter Warmers for the Festive Season

Livia Garrod on 9 January 2023

As I am sure we’ve all noticed, the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are really dropping. But, let’s romanticise these cosy evenings in with five staple winter warmer meals to get us through the colder months!

These meals are all centred around utilising seasonal fruits and vegetables, to limit costs and to try to limit our carbon impact. With this in mind, these meals can all easily be adapted into vegetarian or vegan options.

First up, we have a warming butternut squash soup. This is something that really takes me away from cold, damp Hyde Park, and transports me back to my cosy family home! I love the roasted flavour, with a touch of chilli to add some heat and all it takes is a simple stick blender. In my opinion, some crusty bread is a must with any soup. Why not support a local business and take a wintry walk to @leedsbreadcoop (on Instagram) to pick up some freshly baked sourdough to elevate the soup!

Nothing quite says comfort like pasta. Why not try a creamy mushroom pasta or push the boat out a bit with a pumpkin and kale pasta bake with, of course, lots of cheese! Fill your kitchen with the smell of a baking garlic baguette for optimal cosy vibes.

On a similar note, although it might be lengthy, a lasagne is always worth the time! I make mine using quorn mince and add marmite to enhance the “meaty” flavour. In true Yorkshire (and not very Italian) style, I also add a splash of Henderson’s relish. If you’re a Southerner who has never heard of this sauce, you can thank me later! I prefer to make the bechamel sauce using oat milk to add extra creaminess.

Mash and gravy… need I say any more? Sausages and mash with some peas on the side to add some vibrancy is an easy hit and sure to give you all the wintry feels.

And finally, unsurprisingly, we have the roast. Undoubtedly better had in a pub on a Sunday after a long walk and accompanied by a pint, but nothing beats the satisfaction of making your own. A dried stuffing mix comes in at under a pound and couldn’t be easier and the vegetable prep shared between friends just adds to the wholesome environment. Roast potatoes should only ever come golden and crispy. Make sure to boil them in salted water and shake them up to make them nice and fluffy, before moving them to a tray of hot oil to get the ultimate crisp! 

So, whether you’re cooking for one or clubbing together with housemates, you’ll be sure to warm up your soul with these tasty, and, surprisingly nutritious recipes!

Feeling Fresh and Fruity

Eleanor Richardson on 30 October 2021

The leaves are falling in Hyde Park and Morrisons is stocking Christmas decorations, so winter must be on its way. It can be difficult to maintain a fresh, balanced diet during the colder months. Food just doesn’t last as long, which as a result increases food waste. The statistics are sobering with households in the UK producing 4.5 million tonnes of food waste each year. That amounts to 10 billion edible meals being thrown away. 

This number is gradually falling with the average person wasting 7% less food this year than three years ago. Be a part of the change and take a gander at these quick tips.

  1. Use every last bit of freezer space.

Frozen berries are a godsend when making quick and easy smoothies; frozen vegetables often come pre-sliced and can be added to pasta, curries or whatever else takes your fancy. As they are picked at peak ripeness and frozen quickly afterwards, frozen fruit and vegetables retain the vast majority of their vitamins, minerals, and flavour. The long-lasting nature of frozen food helps to cut food waste.

  1. Get your bake on!

There’s more to life than banana bread. Try a quick and easy fruit bread (like this one) that’ll make any kitchen smell divine, or whip up a stir fry or casserole to use up your leftover vegetables.

  1. It’s ferment to be (get it?)

Gut health is very trendy right now, and nothing makes your gut happy like fermented food. The fermentation process enhances the natural, beneficial bacteria already in your food to aid digestion and turbocharge your immune system. All you need to get your ferment on is an airtight container and a few store cupboard ingredients. Why not try making kimchi?

  1. Eat seasonally

Next time you’re doing a big shop, choose foods that ripen during the cold months. Here are a few options to consider:

  • Cabbage. High in fibre, antioxidants and vitamins, fresh cabbage will be available throughout the cold months. Try roasting it in the oven for something a little different, like cabbage wedges.
  • Winter Squash. Squashes are a great source of Vitamin A, potassium and carotenoids (they’re the thing you find in carrots that make you see in the dark). They can last as long as 3 months if kept in the cupboard. 
  • Turnip. There’s a reason that turnips are a crucial part of the Animal Crossing economy: they last ages, they’re high in potassium, fibre and glucosinolates, and they’re oh-so versatile. Try subbing it for potato in this creamy mash.
  • Citrus fruits, pomegranate and dark leafy greens are flown in from warmer climes, such as Spain. Although we all want to keep our air miles down, these are always an option if you’re concerned about staying healthy and eating fresh through the winter months.

Black Owned Eateries

Ruby Winter on 22 October 2021

Supporting Black-owned food businesses in Leeds.

One of the most direct and sustainable ways to support the Black community is with your money! Post-lockdown, this is even more important; it prevents the shutting down of independent businesses and also helps to get yourself back into the local community after being locked away for so long. In this article, we’ve highlighted some of the best local black-owned eateries for you to visit in the city.

SWEET TREATS

LoveStorm Cakes

LoveStorm Cakes is a custom cake company, whose name stems from a little kitchen in a desperate time in a single mother’s life. Renee Cottle’s knack for eye-catching cakes motivated her to open this business in 2015, which now has over four thousand followers on Instagram and nearly fourteen thousand likes on Facebook. Renee’s cakes and business ethos has rave reviews so be sure to check her out for your next special occasion. Renee’s business doesn’t end there though! She has raised an entire family of entrepreneurs, with her daughters owning goodie businesses of their own. 

LoveStorm Cupcakes by Leilani 

Renee’s daughter owns this custom cupcake start-up, and her products look both indulgent and beautiful. Recently Leilani has also started doing ‘smash hearts’, which are essentially edible pinatas, and I am desperate to try one. Avaiya, also Renee’s daughter, has followed her mother and sister’s footsteps and set up her own business, The Kookie Kid. She bakes and sells handsome sugar cookies and extravagant cake pops, and they look so delicious you’d be silly not to try them!

SAVOURY FOOD

Jerk Express

If you’re looking for some classic Caribbean street food, Jerk Express is the place to go. With native chefs Audley Ellis and Clarkey, this place is sure to give you the most authentic Jamaican food in Leeds. It’s located in Hyde Park, making it a student favourite.

PERSONAL FAVOURITES:

  • Mac and Cheese: if you’re expecting the classic English Mac and Cheese dish, you will be pleasantly surprised. The Jamaican version is a Mac and Cheese pie, and it is spiced to perfection.
  • Jerk Chicken with rice and peas meal: The Jerk seasoning has that distinctive hot and savoury flavour, with a warming kick, but not too spicy. The rice and peas had loads of flavour for a rice dish and is very authentic. All in all, it’s a mouth-watering meal.

Ryan’s Kitchen

If a lot of spice isn’t for you, then this restaurant is the perfect place to enjoy authentic Jamaican flavours without the heat. Their ethos is to make the dishes milder, without losing the traditional Caribbean flavours, and they succeed. This is most likely due to the fact that everything is cooked fresh, and sourced from local suppliers, with their main spices sourced from Jamaica. This restaurant opened up in 2017 and has hundreds of five-star reviews online. It performs mainly as a takeaway but they do have a small dining area for eating in.

PLANT-BASED

Soul Box

Sisters Maye and Monifa founded this plant-based takeaway in Leeds. Their menu changes every week, and they are soon hoping to start making vegan desserts. Both the sisters eat a plant-based diet and have been cooking for their large family since a young age. Their slogan – “Raises your Vibrations, Feeds the Soul” – comes from their desire to provide healthy but flavoursome food, and their food is exciting for vegans and non-vegans alike.

DRINK

The Assembly

This independent bar and bottle shop was established in 2018 by husband and wife duo Steph and Matt Cliffe. It now has two locations, Crossgates and Garforth, both of which have an intimate home-from-home feel. They serve craft beer, classic cocktails and a selected wine list to go with their locally sourced charcuterie and bar snacks.

Header Image Credit: Jerk Express on Facebook.

New Leeds pizza restaurant offers 1000 free meals to celebrate its launch

Alex Gibbon on 2 September 2021

Pizza Punks, an Italian restaurant chain specialising in sourdough pizza, fresh pasta and craft cocktails, is offering 1000 lucky customers the chance of a free meal in their new site in Leeds city centre. As part of their 1k meal giveaway, all you have to do is register here on their website for a free pizza or pasta dish during their opening weeks.

Review: Nando’s The Great Imitator

Anushka Searle on 23 October 2020

f you haven’t heard the news, Nando’s has released its very own vegan chicken – made from pea protein! After some research I’m still not sure as to how this ‘pea protein’ is shaped into these chicken-like-strips. Nonetheless, this is the nicest chicken imitation I’ve ever tasted. In fact, my meat-eating Italian boyfriend even stated that this was “as close as you could get to chicken”, which is a major compliment. Though, as a vegetarian I normally stay away from fake meat, I was also pleasantly surprised by The Great Imitator, even though I despise the name.

You can choose to have your vegan chicken in wrap, pitta or burger. I went for the wrap which contained lettuce, plant-based perinaise, and chilli jam! I think the strips worked well in the wrap as they were well distributed. The strips were well marinated, but the marinade doesn’t absorb as well into the plant-based alternative. I usually go for medium spice, but I think I should have gone for hot! As for the strips themselves, I think the ‘meat’ has a nice texture – not as dry as Quorn!

My boyfriend tried The Great Imitator pitta – which I also had a nibble of! The pitta contains lettuce, semi-dried peri tomatoes, cucumber moons (Nando’s bizarre description) and plant-based perinaise. I think the combination of fake meat with pitta bread is a little bit too dry. Unlike the wrap, the strips don’t work as well in the pitta, as they are not well distributed – a patty would be better! He also decided to try the new coconut and lime marinade, which I personally found to taste quite odd – who wants their Nando’s to taste like Malibu?

Along with trying The Great Imitator, we also tried the new plant-based garlic perinaise. The dip had quite a subtle garlic flavour, and as a massive garlic fan, I would have liked it to be a little bit stronger and more reminiscent of Domino’s garlic and herb. However, the texture of this dip was spot on and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between that and the non-vegan perinaise – who needs eggs?

Now, I must address the elephant in the room. There was some controversy that The Great Imitator isn’t vegan as it is cooked on the same grill as the meat. However, the Nando’s grill is as long as a kitchen counter, and all vegan and vegetarian items are cooked on their own section of the same grill. Therefore, although The Great Imitator is vegetarian, it would be cooked on the same grill as halloumi, so there will be some non-vegan contamination.

Though I did enjoy The Great Imitator wrap, I don’t think I will be swapping this out for my usual order. My usual order is a medium sweet potato and butternut wrap with added halloumi, which at the moment isn’t on the reduced menu, so The Great Imitator will have to do for now.

Header image credit: popsugar uk